Abstract

Background

In ethnobotanical research, the investigation into traditional knowledge of medicinal
plants in the context of migration has been of increasing interest in recent decades
since it is influenced and changed by new environmental and social conditions. It
most likely undergoes transformation processes to match the different living circumstances
in the new location. This study compares the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants
held by Tyroleans – and their descendants – who emigrated to Australia, Brazil and
Peru at different time scales. The study’s findings allow a discussion of the complexities
and dynamics that influence this knowledge within the context of long-distance migration.

Methods

Information was obtained from 65 informants by free-listing, semi-structured interviews
and non-participatory observation in Tyrol (Austria) and the migrants’ countries:
Australia, Brazil and Peru. The collected data was analysed using different quantitative
approaches, including statistical tests, and compared between the countries of investigation.

Results

All respondents in all four investigation areas claimed that they had knowledge and
made use of medicinal plants to treat basic ailments in their day-to-day lives. Informants
made 1,139 citations of medicinal plants in total in free lists, which correspond
to 164 botanical taxa (genus or species level) in Tyrol, 87 in Australia, 84 in Brazil
and 134 in Peru. Of all the botanical taxa listed, only five (1.1%) were listed in
all four countries under investigation. Agreement among informants within free lists
was highest in Tyrol (17%), followed by Peru (12.2%), Australia (11.9%) and Brazil
(11.2%). The proportion of agreement differs significantly between informants in Australia
and Tyrol (p = 0.001), Brazil and Tyrol (p = 0.001) and Peru and Tyrol (p = 0.001)
and is similar between informants in the migrant countries, as indicated by statistical
tests. We recorded 1,286 use citations according to 744 different uses (Tyrol: 552,
Australia: 200, Brazil: 180, Peru: 357) belonging to 22 different categories of use.
Use values are significantly different between Tyrol and Australia (p < 0.001) but
not between Tyrol and Brazil (p = 0.127) and Tyrol and Peru (p = 0.853). The average
informant agreement ratio (IAR) in Tyrol is significantly higher than in Australia
(p = 0.089) and Brazil (p = 0.238), but not Peru (p = 0.019).

Conclusions

Changing ecological and social conditions have transformed and shaped traditional
knowledge of medicinal plants through adaptation processes to match the new circumstances
in the country of arrival. Continuation, substitution and replacement are strategies
that have taken place at different rates depending on local circumstances in the research
areas. Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants acquired in the home country is continuously
diminishing, with its composition influenced by urbanisation and ongoing globalisation
processes and challenged by shifts from traditional healing practices to modern healthcare
facilities.